When my day job asked me to go to NYC for work, my immediate thought was “YES, vegan food!” By the time I booked my flight, I already had a list of restaurants within a mile radius from the Bryant Park office prioritized from “most desirable” to “still pretty desirable” (I take organization as seriously as I take eating).

I’m calling this list “Part 1” because there were too many delicious options for just one visit.

While living in Thailand, I naturally developed an obsession with Thai food. Whenever I’m in a new city, I always try to go to at least one Thai place. Not only do I have a good sense of what’s going to be vegan & gluten free, but the food is rarely anything less than delicious.

I stumbled upon Pure Thai Cookhouse with some colleagues. The best part? The menu had labels for items that were 100% vegan. I decided on the Wok Vegetable Medley With Tofu, and although I was too hungry to snap a pic, the meal did not disappoint.

Green Symphony was only a mile from my office, so it was the perfect lunch time cafe. When I first arrived, I was a little bit confused by the set up- Fresh hot food, salads, smoothies/juice bar, and a health food store all in a tiny space? But that small space held so much greatness. I decided on a “build your own” salad with miso ginger dressing. Green Symphony was the perfect find for a quick, healthy bite.

Before leaving for NYC, I did an Instagram scan of #NYCvegan. I was drooling over pictures of meals from By Chloe, so it was one of the top places on my list. I ate the Quinoa Taco Salad (gluten free), and it left me speechless. I devoured the entire thing in about 10 minutes, and would have gone back for more if I had the time.

I came across Quintessence in a Yelp search for raw vegan NYC cafes. It was a bit of a trip from where I was staying, so I decided to treat myself to a solo afternoon adventure. Everything about this place jived with me. After a lengthy internal debate over what to order and a consultation with the super friendly staff, I picked the Q Club Sandwich. This turned out to be my dream cafe and my dream meal. It was my favorite meal in NYC (but remember, I’m hoping this is only Part 1).

What’s next?

My list of vegan restaurants was much longer than the amount of meals I was in NYC for, so I still have quite a few options for next time including: